“Keep smiling and keep shining, knowing you can always count on me, for sure; that’s what friends are for. In good times and bad times, I’ll be on your side forever more; that’s what friends are for.”

–“That’s What Friends Are For” (by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager; 1982)

Maybe it’s an age thing. The older I get, the more I cherish my friends. Perhaps some of you, now also retired, feel a need to fill the void created by the absence of time at work with colleagues.

Don’t get me wrong–no one trumps family, but sometimes you just need to spend time with a friend with whom you share a special interest or who offers a different perspective on life.

A few weeks ago, I and my family enjoyed our annual weekend with my longest-term friends (“oldest” has a bad connotation!)–the next-door-neighbor kids from my childhood. People my siblings and I have known longer than anyone outside of our immediate family.

The “little girl next door” still owns the lake house her dad built in the 60’s. We sit and talk, and reminisce about our shared experiences during our childhood years. Lots of laughter!

Of course, the old lake house, as comfortable as a worn coat, is the perfect spot, where we joke that “life is measured one wine bottle at a time.”

All of us make friends through the various stages of our lives: the old neighborhood, grade school through high school, college, work. I suspect more times than not, we lose touch with old friends and, in the process, let pieces of our lives’ stories fade.

If we’re lucky, we re-connect with friends from the past and get a second chance to nourish those important connections. As a result, our lives are the better for it.

It’s just as important to maintain friendships of more recent origin: those made through church, civic organizations, work, and community. We are wrong to let those relationships dwindle through simple neglect.

After all the money Facebook spent on marketing and development, it’s no wonder the company chose the word “Friend” to represent those people you choose to follow. Doesn’t it sound so much warmer and relational than “Contact,” for example? And, like it or not, Facebook has enjoyed a modicum of success, to say the least!

Jesus taught “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13 NIV).” While that does happen–probably more often on a battlefield than anywhere else–most of us will never be required to make such a sacrifice.

But, can’t we call a friend to meet over lunch, coffee, or our cold beverage of choice? That’s not a big ask, but how often do we succumb to the inertia of never reaching out?

Life experience experts state that loneliness is one of the greatest issues people experience as they age. I suspect they’re right. Imagine your world without the friends who add meaning and joy to your life.

A sense of community is important, and likely explains why retirement communities are thriving. Think about an individual or couple isolated in a home compared to those living in the midst of people of similar age and interests. There’s really no comparison.

A wise man once told me we may have many friends, but we’re blessed if we have even a handful of friends whom we can count on to be there for us when we need them the most–friends who would drop everything to respond to our emergency. My father-in-law was correct.

So, regardless of your age, if you’ve been meaning to make that call, send that text or email, or drop that note (remember notes?), just do it. Reach out. You might just renew an old connection, enrich another’s life, and, in the process, enrich yours as well.

After all, that’s what friends are for.